Crash
by TTT1901
Summary: Sara is processing evidence when Nick walks in and a loud crash is heard. What happened to our CSI's? A multiple parter. NickSara by the end.
1. Chapter 1

**A.N./ Ok, this story's been in progress for about 2 years now, and so I thought I'd finally post the first chapter, and see if anyone wanted to read it. If you do, please review. If you don't ... please review anyway, so I'll know that there's no point in continuing!**

**Chapter 1**

"Guess who!" taunted Nick, as he covered Sara's eyes with his hands, so she could no longer see the evidence she was processing in front of her.

Sara smiled broadly. It could only be one person – with her lab reputation only one person would dare to do that to her, and that self same person was also the only one who would get away with it without a swift knee between his legs.

"Hmmm – Nick?"

"Uh yeah," he said, happy that she had realised it was him, and then smirked, "but guess again anyway!"

As he realised that she might not appreciate this, however, he decided to take pity on her and remove his hands. As he took them away he turned round and stood in front of her by the side of the metal desk she had been working at.

He was rewarded first with a smile and a giggle, which made his heart almost miss a beat, and then, a few seconds later, with an exaggerated pout, which made his stomach flip over several times, and seemed to make his heart forget that its main purpose in life was to pump his blood around his body.

_My GOD is that pout sexy…_

"Ah, but I didn't get to guess again!" she pouted, allowing her bottom lip to tremble slightly, and looked at him under her lowered lashes, batting them madly in a deeply exaggerated motion.

He smiled broadly at her, loving the way she looked like a little girl with her jutting out lower lip and wildly batting eyelashes.

_Breathe, Sara, breathe…_

"Um, ok…" he thought for a moment, as he hadn't even registered the fact that she might have wanted to guess again, then, quick as a flash, he covered her eyes with his hands again. Unfortunately from his current position, he had to step forward, lean over the corner of the desk and push lightly on her face to ensure her eyes were covered. Or, at least, that was what was meant to happen.

This was a very bad move.

As he leant forward he didn't notice the corner of the desk … or the table-leg. That would be the extremely sharp corner of the desk … and the bolted-to-the-floor, sturdy, metal table-leg.

He moved with great speed and covered her eyes, effectively blinding her, so she didn't see his side slam into the sharp metal corner of the desk, she missed the grimace of pain on his face, and was then oblivious to his tumble out of the way of the corner of the table. She also didn't spot him trip over the table-leg. She noticed this last development, however,as his hands were still pressing lightly onto her face and, unfortunately, as he moved he tripped, lost his balance, and tumbled forwards onto the floor, pushing her down with him.

"Nick!" she screamed, taken unawares by this, having not seen the commotion leading up to it, as she landed sprawled on the floor, her legs tangled up with the combined legs of Nick, her stool and the table.

As they landed in this tangle of arms, legs and stool on the floor, the loud crash they made shook the room. Sara's eyes were now freed and, as she stared up at a cupboard full of glass beakers and test tubes she thought she must have hit her head on the floor pretty hard, because the cupboard appeared to be wobbling. Then she steadied her head with the hand that wasn't trapped under Nick's body and realised that it wasn't her head or body that were making it wobble – the cupboard itself was shaking!

"Nick!" she said loudly, pushing at him ineffectively, "Nick we have to move, it's going to fall!" Her voice started to grow louder and panic filled it as she realised she was trapped – he was too heavy and, from the looks of it, unconscious.

"Niiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiick!" she screamed one last time, before the cupboard crashed with an alarming noise consisting of a large thud of the body of it hitting the floor, and then a huge shattering of all of the glass inside it, most of which managed to spill on top of Nick and Sara.

Sara didn't notice this, however, because the force of the cupboard hitting her body but, in particular, her head, had knocked her out, and to all the world she appeared as though dead.

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"Oh my God!" Warrick exclaimed as he walked through the door, having come to investigate the source of all the noise.

"Oh … oh my God! Catherine! Grissom! Call 911! We need some paramedics here quickly, we need an ambulance, Nick and Sara are badly hurt!"

As Grissom and Catherine heard his shout they raced down the hall, Catherine whipping out her ever-present cell as they went. As she dialled 911 they both processed the scene in front of them.

As Catherine spoke to the emergency services Warrick noticed that Sara wasn't breathing.

"Gris, help me get this cupboard off her, Sara's not breathing!"

Between the two men, they soon had the cupboard standing upright again, but by this time it was evident that neither Sara nor Nick were breathing, and the paleness of their faces, and slight bluish tinge appearing around their lips showed that they were both deeply cyanotic.

Catherine hung up and said "An ambulance is on its way, it'll be about 3 minutes."

"They aren't gonna make it that long!" said Warrick, as Greg's face appeared in the doorway, followed by Mia's.

"Holy CRAP!" he exclaimed, as he noticed the two still forms on the floor. "What happened!"

Meanwhile Warrick had done the only thing he could think of. Gently he moved Nick's body off of Sara's trying to move it as gently as possible, in case he had a spinal injury, and was crouching down next to him, trying to avoid kneeling on any glass. He brushed some glass as gently as possible off Nick's face, looked up at the others and said "Anyone else remember their basic first aid training, and how to administer mouth to mouth?"

**A.N.2/ So what's your verdict? It'll only take a few seconds!**


	2. Chapter 2

**A.N./ Thankyou SO MUCH to everyone who reviewed,there areeven more for this first chapter than the first chapter of my first sotry! I'm so happy! doeshappy dance Anyway, I don't know how many parts this story will have, it keeps leading me off in different directions, and I haven't touched it in ages! Sorry about the delay in upadting, I had my prom, and so I've been really busy, and haven't had much time to write or update! I'll try and keep updating regularly. Anyways, enough of my rambling, on with the story...**

**Chapter 2**

As the others all stared at him, he tilted Nick's head back, squeezed his nose between his thumb and forefinger, opened his mouth, checked for any obstructions and covered Nick's mouth with his, blowing in a puff of air. This idea spurred Grissom into action.

He knelt down next to Sara, and brushed some glass gently off her face, as Warrick had done with Nick, tilted her head back, checked for obstructions, pinched her nose and began to administer mouth-to-mouth. As he did this he couldn't help but notice how soft her lips were, and realised that perhaps his feelings were more than those of just a co-worker and boss. He realised he had come to care deeply for this young CSI, and decided if she came through this then he would have a talk with her. He knew she had had a crush on him for a while, but he hadn't done anything, as he was unsure of his feelings towards her. Decided on what he would do now, he tried to get her to breathe, as he continually blew short puffs of air into her lungs.

Between them all of the CSI's had realised that both Sara's and Nick's hearts were beating, as their eyes were flickering under their lids, but neither of them were breathing spontaneously yet, and this was starting to worry them. They didn't know for how long the two CSI's had been without oxygen now, and their lips were turning decidedly blue, when Nick suddenly gasped, taking in a deep breath, but failing to regain consciousness. At this everyone, including Warrick, turned their eyes towards Grissom, hoping that the same would happen to Sara.

The sirens from the paramedics could be heard now, coming closer, when they abruptly cut off. "They must be in the parking lot!" said Greg, and he rushed off to meet them, and tell them about the situation on the way.

Meanwhile, Sara was still not breathing.

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The paramedics rushed into the room, and spotted Grissom still futilely administering mouth-to mouth.

"Is she still not breathing, Sir?" asked one of the men, as the others started to unpack equipment. Grissom looked up and shook his head resignedly. At this, two of the paramedics rushed over and whilst one put an ET tube down her throat another one attached an ambu-bag to the end, to continue what Grissom had been doing, and to ensure that some oxygen still made it to her body.

Meanwhile Warrick helped the other paramedic to tilt Nick carefully onto his side, and then lower him onto a stretcher, and secure him in place, just in case he had a serious spinal injury. The same was done to Sara, and then Warrick again helped the paramedics carry down the stretchers, while Greg rushed ahead and opened doors for them, shouting at anyone in the way to "MOVE!", while the rest of them followed helplessly behind, still in shock at what had happened.

As they reached the ambulance, both of the stretchers were loaded in, but this left no room for any of Nick and Sara's co-workers. The paramedics told them which hospital they were going to, and took off quickly, siren's blazing, leaving the CSI crew staring after them at the edge of the parking lot.

"I'm following," said Warrick after a short pause.

"Me too!" piped up Greg.

Everyone looked at Grissom, expecting him to say something to these two, but he was looking off in the direction that the ambulance had gone, and everyone thought he had not heard them, until he said "Okay," in a completely un-Grissom like way. "Anyone else want to go and see if they're alright?"

As they all answered in the affirmative, he led the way over to their row of cars.

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A short while later they all traipsed into the waiting room, and asked the nurse on duty where their friends had been taken. She directed them up to diagnosis on the fourth floor.

They all piled into the lift, and Warrick pressed the button with a four on it, and the doors pinged shut. There was complete silence again, just like there had been in the cars on the ride over, everyone lost in their own thoughts. This was a new thing to the CSI's. They were used to danger at their crime scenes, and were used to extreme scenes of blood and gore, and dead bodies, but to see two of their own in such perilous conditions, with no knowledge of how they got there…

The tension in the lift was almost suffocating, as each of them tried to figure out what might have happened. Warrick wondered if Nick had finally had the nerve to ask Sara out yet. Maybe she had fainted in shock? Unlikely. Still, he was Nick's best friend, and he knew how much he cared for Sara, and had begun to think that Sara might feel the same way back, as her interest in Grissom seemed to have dropped. If Nick hadn't asked her out yet – hey! They were both in the hospital! That would give them some private time alone, so he would have a good few opportunities to ask her out. Warrick made a mental note to push this point with Nick when he regained consciousness.

As they doors opened, they all stepped out, more than one of them breathing a sigh of relief, when they saw Nick being wheeled across the corridor on a gurney.

"Nick…NICK!" shouted Warrick as they all rushed over.

"Hey guys," Nick murmured in a wobbly way. As he noticed their looks of concern he added "I'm ok, they're just taking me for some x-rays and an MRI to see if anything's broken or if I have a concussion."

As they all breathed a sigh of relief, he asked something that set all of their hearts thumping painfully.

"Where's Sara?"

**A.N.2/ Hehe, I had to leave it there! I'll try to update soon, but in the meantime, please review! The more reviews I get, the quicker the next chapter will be posted!**


	3. Chapter 3

**A.N./ A big thankyou to everyone who reviewed! I'm glad people are enjoying it. I'm going to introduce a twist that just seemed to appear in my head when I was wrting it at the end of this chapter - its slightly evil tho! Speaking of which:**

**Heartagram: I liked your idea, but I'm going in a slightly different direction, so I won't be using it. However, I am asking for your permission to use your lines from the review you posted for my chapter 1. Please review and let me know if I can use them!**

**So, enough of my rambling, read on...**

**Chapter 3 **

As he saw the looks of worry that the other CSI's exchanged, Nick suddenly felt a wave of horror. If they didn't know where she was, and he didn't know where she was … then what had happened to her? He struggled to try and remember what had happened in the lab. He had covered her eyes with his hands, and then he had tripped, and the last thing he remembered was Sara's terrified scream of "Niiiiiiick!". Oh God, if anything had happened to her because of him…

Warrick stared down at his friend in dismay. He knew how much Nick had liked Sara, he may have even been progressing to love Sara, and Warrick knew this must be tearing him up inside.

The nurses who had been wheeling Nick to have his scans started to move the people around the gurney, muttering something about needing to hurry with these tests. The CSI's reluctantly moved back, allowing their friend to be wheeled away.

"Don't worry Nick, we'll find out where Sara is. I'm sure she's fine!" Catherine called. It sounded like a pathetic promise even to her ears.

As Warrick watched Nick pass through a set of double doors down the corridor he turned to the others. "So," he started, "Where do you guys reckon Sara is?"

Grissom still stared fixedly on the ground. His gaze had been fixed there ever since he had heard Nick speak those fateful words. _Where's Sara?_ He never knew how much two little words could tilt his world so upside down. He now realised how much he had come to depend on Sara, and how much he had taken her feelings for him for granted, never taking the risk to see if there was something worth risking his career for. Not once had he ever put her before his work, and he now realised that she deserved to be there. He had to find her, because if she was still alive, and right now he wished with all his heart that she was, he had to tell her how he felt.

He looked up, with determination in his eyes. "I do not know where she is, Warrick, but we are going to find her!" Grissom said, with such force that the others looked at him in shock. With that, he turned and walked down the hallway towards the reception area, ostensibly to try to find out some information about Sara, and the others, after exchanging some looks of their own, followed.

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Nick lay there in the MRI machine, with it revolving around him, with his eyes shut. And tried to do as the nurse had said, and let his mind blank out, but it was near impossible when he had no idea what had happened to Sara. He couldn't bear the thought that she might be dead, not when he cared so much for her, not when he … loved her. For it was clear to him now exactly how he felt about her. He knew that he had to tell her how he felt, when he found out where she was, if she was alive. No. She HAD to be alive! There was no way his life would continue if she wasn't alive. Not when he now knew he had a chance.

For they had been chatting the other day in the break room when Grissom had walked in, grabbed a cup of coffee, said hi to Nick, acted as if Sara wasn't even there and had walked out again. Throughout the whole 30 seconds he had been in the room Sara had been dead silent, as if almost willing Grissom NOT to notice her. When he had walked out again, Nick had turned to Sara, to notice tears in the corners of her eyes. He knew she had harboured supposedly secret feelings for Grissom for quite some time, however, the entire lab knew. He also realised how much the last 30 seconds had hurt her, even though she was trying not to let it show, and had acted like she wanted it to happen. So, acting on instinct, he had gathered her up in a hug.

"Sara, what's wrong?"

"Nothing," she sniffled. "It's just I've finally begun to realise that Grissom has no romantic feelings for me whatsoever. I've also realised that it hasn't been love that I've been feeling for him all this time, it's been infatuation."

"Right," Nick said slowly, not really understanding the distinction between the two, and wondering whether infatuation was better or worse than love.

Sara seemed to notice this and continued. "Nick, I don't love him. I went for him because I realised he was someone I could never get, and I wanted to achieve that goal. It became an obsessive competition for me to get him, it ended up having nothing to do with feelings. And I've now realised that I want something more. I don't have feelings for him. I may have done at some point, but I don't any more. And now that I've realised that, I don't feel like playing his game any more." She smiled. "I want to go out, meet a guy, go on dates." Her smile turned impish. "I want to have fun!"

And with that comment she had turned her head to look up at him and had stepped away from him. Walking out of the break room she had turned back to him and added "And that's what I'm going to do!".

Nick didn't even know if she could ever feel anything romantic for him, but that phrase kept echoing through his mind. He knew he had to try, and if she didn't want to … then he would have to accept that, he realised, with a sinking weight in the bottom of his stomach.

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Sara awoke, groggy and uncertain of where she was. She appeared to be in a very clean, very white room. _How strange!_ she thought. She looked around for any kind of recognisable features that could try to tell her where she was. Suddenly someone else walked into the room. It was a young girl, who couldn't have been more than 20, wearing a white uniform.

"Ah good, you're awake!" she said brightly. "I'll go and get the doctor!"

Sara grabbed her by the arm. "Wait! Why a doctor? And why am I here?"

The nurse looked concerned. "Don't you remember what happened at the lab where you work? We've got an account of what happened from your male co-worker, Nick, but we were hoping we could get an account from you too!"

"Who – who's Nick?" Sara said worriedly.

**A.N.2/Mwahahahahahahaha! Sorry, I couldn't resist!Please review!**


	4. Chapter 4

**A.N./ Here's the next bit. I apologise to all those who have reviewed saying something along the lines of "oh no, not amnesia, surely she remembers Nick, you are so mean!" It was crucial to my story plan, and I'll make up for in later chapters!**

**Chapter 4**

A short while later Sara found herself surrounded by the entire CSI team of friends with whom she had been working for about 5 years, minus Nick of course. Unfortunately the way they were all looking at her was only serving to make her more nervous, as she did not recognise any of them.

Catherine stared at Sara in shock. After some very long pleading and questioning they had convinced the receptionist of the hospital to tell them what room Sara was in. Yet when they arrived there, they were told that Sara had amnesia from the blow to the head she had sustained. The MRI they had taken upon her arrival at the hospital had revealed nothing unusual, however she did have a concussion, and a broken leg, due to the way the cupboard had landed on her.

Unfortunately the doctor who had been by to see them couldn't tell them whether the amnesia was temporary or permanent. It may just be while she suffered with concussion, or it might never return. The doctor had recommended that she surround herself with people she was used to spending time with, and immerse herself in familiar surroundings, once she was able to go home, of course.

So Sara sat there, waiting for someone to speak, and so try to trigger her memories into remembering something. Finally Grissom was the first to speak.

"So you really don't recognise any of us?"

His voice was filled with a sort of sad despair. Gone were the hopes of sparking a relationship between them. He thought he might still try, but he would rather try when she knew who he was, as he felt he had a better chance if she knew who he was and remembered how she felt about him.

Sara shook her head sadly. Looking at the people around her she could see the hope in their eyes that she would remember at least one of them, and she hated to let them down, but she had no choice.

"I wish I did! You've all told me your names, but neither those nor your faces trigger any kind of memory. I'm sorry!"

"No, Sara, I'm the one who's sorry!"

Everyone spun around upon hearing Nick's voice, as he was wheeled into the same ward in a wheelchair, and pushed next to her bed. "It was my fault that you fell off your chair, because I tripped, and in a way pushed you. And so it is also my fault that you have amnesia and a broken leg." A nurse had come and told him Sara's condition when his MRI had finished.

Sara stared at this newcomer. He was extremely handsome, and had a very cute Texan accent. And his face triggered something familiar for just a second … and then it was gone, it had slipped away.

Everyone saw the brief expression of recognition that flitted across her face for those few seconds. Greg was the first to voice this.

"Did you recognise Nick? It looked like you did! Did any memory return?"

Sara shook her head no sadly. "I had this brief feeling of knowing him, but then it disappeared, it didn't even last long enough for me to remember your name!" she told the young man apologetically.

Nick smiled sadly at her, feeling an enormous amount of guilt course through his veins and settle heavily on his heart. This was all his fault. No one else's. Just his.

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Nick lay in his hospital bed, trying to sleep, but it was hard. He looked over at Sara sleeping peacefully in the next bed. He couldn't believe that he had caused her to lose her memory, or to break her leg. He hated the fact that he had caused her pain, and the memory loss was the worst. She didn't remember him, Catherine, Warrick, Grissom, Greg … anyone from where they worked. She had called her brother, and could still remember her family and childhood, she just couldn't remember anything relating to her work here in L.A. It was something to do with the part of her brain that had been subjected to the most shock and shaking due to her concussion. It was the part that dealt with long-term memory, but only a small portion of it was affected.

At that point he heard someone walking quietly towards his bed. He squinted to try to work out who it was in the darkness. When the figure sat down in a chair next to his bed he realised who it was. Warrick.

"Listen, Nick," he whispered, so as not to wake Sara, "I have to tell you this, otherwise I know you'll never do it yourself!"

Nick looked at him, confused. "Okay," he said slowly and quietly.

"It's obvious how much you like Sara, hell, I might even go as far as to say that you love her! But, quite frankly, it's getting on my nerves that you still haven't done anything about it! Not everyone knows, however. And, if I were you, I'd do something about it before it becomes common knowledge!"

Nick stared at him. Were his feelings for Sara really that obvious?

"Okay," he said again to Warrick. "So … what are you suggesting I do?"

Warrick felt like physically shaking some sense into his friend. How hard was it to pick up on what he was saying?

"Ask her out on a date! You two will be here in the hospital for a while, you both have a concussion, and she has a broken leg. You'll be alone together! It's the perfect opportunity!"

Nick looked over at Sara sadly. "Warrick, she doesn't even remember who I am. And it's all because of me. You really think she'd want to go out with me after that?"

Warrick followed his gaze to Sara, sleeping soundly, and then looked back at Nick. Even in the tiny amount of light from the moon filtering through the curtains he could see the longing on his friend's face as he watched Sara sleep. He could also see love … and guilt. Nick was completely blaming himself.

"Nick." Warrick waited until Nick tore his gaze away from Sara to look at him before continuing. "Trust me, she looked at you yesterday, and she recognised you. Maybe not completely, but she obviously has some memories of you that are much closer to the surface than memories of us."

Nick looked slightly heartened by this, but before he could reply, Warrick went on.

"And you owe it to her to talk to her for a while anyway. She obviously remembers you more, so talking to you has the best chance of triggering more memories, and I'm willing to bet Grissom will say the same thing. So I'd definitely talk to her as much as possible … for her sake, if not for yours."

Warrick felt slightly mean playing on his friend's feelings of guilt like this, but he also knew it had the best chance of making Nick talk to Sara, and so he was prepared to do whatever he could to help them get together.

**A.N.2/ Please read and review! Please!**


	5. Chapter 5

**A.N./ This chapter is dedicated to Matt and Nat - who are making me laugh while I'm spell checking this! So if there are any mistakes it's their fault! This one has some moments which I felt were necessary to include - but to reassure those reading it it will be snickers at the end! It's not as fast moving as some of the others, but the next one will be good, promise!**

**Chapter 5**

When Sara awoke the next morning, she lay in bed, trying desperately to remember the dream she had been having. It had involved someone she was sure she knew very well, but she couldn't for the life of her remember his name. She had been looking at him, and wishing he loved her the same way she loved him.

A noise from the bed next to her startled her, and so she looked over at the person lying in it. It was that cute Texan man … Nick was his name, she thought. Again she seemed to recognise him, she had a vague memory of him giving her a hug. It was because … no, it was no good, she couldn't remember. She sighed quietly.

"Hey," Nick smiled at her, "how you doing?"

Sara smiled back. Whenever she talked to him, as she had done yesterday for a little while before going to sleep, she felt a bit better. She was still trying to figure out why.

"I'm, good, my leg doesn't hurt as much any more!"

Nick suddenly looked stricken. "About that, Sara, I'm so sorry! I really am! I swear I didn't mean-"

"Nick! Don't worry, I know you didn't mean to! We were just goofing around and then you-" She broke off.

Nick was staring at her in amazement. "Oh my god! You … you remember?"

Sara just sat there. It was like a scene was playing out in her head. She watched as Nick was laughing at her, and covered her eyes, and then she felt herself being pushed again, falling on the floor, and then saw the cabinet come crashing down. She shut her eyes, wincing at the memory.

"Sara? Nick asked worriedly, she looked like she was remembering something very painful. He got out of bed, wobbling a bit, and came and sat on the edge of her bed.

Sara opened her eyes when she felt a warm hand close around hers, and a gentle thumb brush over her knuckles, sending shivers down her spine, and she knew she wasn't cold. She tried to ignore that and focused on answering Nick.

"I saw it all! I remembered!" she told him excitedly.

"Saw what exactly?" asked Grissom as he walked in.

Sara's breath caught in her chest. That was the man from her dream. The one she had been wishing loved her as much as she loved him. Strange, she didn't feel like she loved him looking at him now. Maybe those feelings were still lost in her at the moment. She decided to ignore all ideas of love and relationships at the moment – maybe she already had a boyfriend? She had no idea.

"I remembered what happened on the day of the accident!" she told Grissom. "I remembered Nick came in, and covered my eyes, asking me to guess who it was. I guessed right, and then he came around to stop in front of me. I said something about ...about guessing again?" She looked questioningly at Nick, as though checking this was right.

"Yeah, I said guess again, and then when I took my hands away you sounded sad that you couldn't guess again, so I moved forward to cover your eyes with my hands, so you could guess again and, um, failed to spot that the corner of the table was there." He looked sheepish.

By this time the rest of the CSI team had traipsed into the room and, having grabbed chairs and sat down, were listening carefully.

"Oh, so that's what you were doing, covering my eyes! All I remember is you pushing me! I did wonder why!" she added laughingly.

"I was just trying to cover Sara's eyes," Nick told all the CSI's, turning around to look at them, with his face turning bright red, and letting go of Sara's hand, before someone noticed.

"What, with your body and the cupboard?" Warrick asked him, sarcastically.

"Shut up," Nick muttered as everyone laughed.

"Anyway," Catherine interrupted, "how are you feeling today Sara?"

"I have a bit of a headache, but that only came from remembering the incident, and it's fading now, and my leg doesn't hurt as much!"

"The headache is probably because your mind had to handle the input of data without being prepared. Every memory we have contains a huge amount of information, thousands of megabytes of…"

Greg trailed off as he realised everyone was staring at him.

Grissom cleared his throat. "Anyway, Sara, we're glad you're feeling better! Do you remember anything else?"

Sara knew that remembering this was the first step, however she, like everyone else, knew that there was a long way to go, and so she hated to disappoint them again, but she had to tell them the truth.

"Sorry, that's it. Just the one memory so far."

Grissom looked slightly confused. He was sure he had seen a sort of flicker of recognition in her eyes when she had seen him walk in. Maybe she remembered some of her feelings for him? He hoped so. Then he could have a nice talk with her about perhaps starting something up between them. Until then, however, he would keep quiet.

"Well," said Warrick, breaking the silence that had followed Sara's statement, "it seems Nick brings these memories out of you then! It's probably a good idea to stay around him for a bit, it might help you remember more."

Nick looked at his friend, who was now trying desperately to restrain a laugh at the angry look Nick was giving him. Luckily, no one else noticed, and so no one was surprised when Grissom ordered Nick to take some time off work for the next few weeks and spend it with Sara, in order to help her remember.

Although Grissom would have preferred to do it himself, he wanted Sara to remember her feelings as soon as possible, so he could talk to her.

**A.N.2/ Please review!**


	6. Chapter 6

**A.N. The next bit, slightly longer than the others, and starting that fantastic element of these kind of stories - SNICKERS! Enjoy!**

**Chapter 6**

"Where are my keys?" Sara almost yelled, struggling to yank them out of her purse while balancing on one leg and leaning against the front door of her flat.

"Yes!" she exclaimed as she finally freed them from whatever had been snagging them, and then she heard a muffled voice ask "I take it you've finally got your keys out of your bag then?"

Sara looked over at Nick, almost hidden by her crutches, two overnight bags and a huge brown bag of groceries cradled in his arms.

"Yeah, I have, you just have to hang on a minute longer Nick!" she laughed as she opened the door. Throwing her keys and handbag onto the table right inside the door, she turned back to Nick.

"Ok, now I need my crutches."

"Right," Nick said slowly, trying to figure out how to give Sara her crutches and still hold everything else in his arms. Sara reached into the pile, managing to get her hand around one of them, but by tugging at it and balancing on one leg, the two of them became very unstable.

For the second time in a week Sara felt Nick crash into her and the two of them crash to the floor. This time, thankfully, although he landed on top of her, she didn't bang her head, and there was no cabinet nearby to fall on them. As she lay there, she looked up, and her gaze was captured by Nick's dark brown eyes.

Nick stared down at Sara lying beneath him. Having her so close to him was playing havoc on his body, which was threatening to respond to how he felt about her. Knowing that Sara would undoubtedly be able to feel this, he tried to squash down those feelings, but he couldn't resist just reaching down and brushing a few strands of hair off her cheek gently with his hand, allowing his knuckles to graze the soft skin of her face ever so gently.

Sara shivered inwardly as she felt his hand stroke her cheek, and as she continued to stare into his eyes, she could see desire for her in them, and she knew that look was mirrored in her own eyes. She had fallen for him, having spent so much time with him in the hospital, them talking almost non-stop, in an effort to help her to regain her memories. She still hadn't remembered anything else, but sometimes she felt it close to the surface, almost braking through whatever dam seemed to be blocking all these memories from her conscious mind, and then they would slip away again.

As Nick moved his head almost imperceptibly closer, Sara realised he was going to kiss her. Against all her instincts telling her that she didn't even know if she was going out with anyone else yet, she allowed her eyes to start to drift closed. She could feel his breath on her cheek …

As Nick leaned down he saw Sara's eyes start to shut and he knew she was giving him the go ahead. He leant down until just a wisp of air separated them.

Then Sara's neighbours came out of their flat and jolted Sara and Nick out of their almost kiss. The two opened their eyes again, startled, and Nick hastily got off of Sara and started piling the groceries back into the bag that they had spilled out of as he had fallen. He then quickly dumped these on the inside table where Sara's keys and bag were, and then leant down to help Sara up.

Sara reached up for the hand that he offered, more than a little annoyed that her neighbours had chosen that precise moment to walk out of their flat, although she knew that it was for the best, until she regained her memories. Also, if they had come out a minute later, it would have been much more embarrassing for her!

Sara finally reached the relative safety of balancing on one leg, and Nick quickly reached down and picked up her crutches, handing them to her, allowing her to hobble in the door in front of him. He desperately wanted to carry her in, or help her in, but he knew that if he did he wouldn't be able to resist kissing her, and he didn't really want to do that until she had regained her memories, he was afraid of what she would say after regaining them, whether she would want what he wanted as much, or whether she had just kissed him because she didn't remember anyone else she might like more.

Sara made it over to the couch, and sat down, eager to be off her feet, as it was very tiring using crutches, and her arms were already hurting from the strain. Meanwhile Nick carried the bag of groceries into the kitchen, and filled up the kettle, turning it on after he had done so.

"Coffee?" he asked Sara, having walked into her living room.

"Oh! Yes, sure I'll just go and make it! Hang on." As Sara tried to get up Nick hurried over to her. This was a very good idea, because as she made it to her feet she wobbled and had it not been for him grabbing her arms, she would have fallen into a very undignified heap.

"I've put the kettle on already!" Nick told her gently, a smile now lighting his face up. "I was just inquiring whether you wanted any." Having her this close to him again after the hallway encounter was doing dreadful things to his mind, making it run with an x-rated certificate, which he was sure would disgust her. _Or would it?_ He wondered, considering their encounter not five minutes ago. _She certainly wasn't rejecting my advances then._

Sara looked at Nick's kind smile, and felt her insides melt. She had definitely fallen for this guy, and she wanted him in the worst way, but at the moment her mind was still stuck on the idea of coffee.

"Oh Nick, I'm sorry" she said, jerking him out of his thoughts.

"Sorry? Why?"

"I'm so pathetic, I can't even make coffee or anything on my own, 'cause I'll fall over…" She felt her eyes begin to water. She had always prided herself on being independent, and here she was, unable to even make a cup of coffee.

Unable to bear it any longer, she suddenly burst into tears.

When Nick spotted this, he gave up trying to stop his body from doing what it had desperately wanted to do for the past few minutes, and gave in to the urge to wrap his arms around her. He gently embraced her, and unable to stop himself, kissed the top of her head softly.

"It's alright, It's ok," he murmured. She seemed to take comfort in his words, and began to relax.

"Anyway," he said softly, "I should be the one who's sorry. It's my fault, after all, that you're unable to do that."

Sara pulled away slightly, and looked up at him through her tears. Now, though, there was a hint of a smile on her face.

"I thought we agreed that wasn't your fault!" she said. Just being in his arms was causing that familiar feeling of memories rising to surface in her again. If they would just come a little bit further…

"Yeah," Nick muttered, "but I did kind of push you."

Once again Sara saw the scene playing out in her head, the first memory that she had remembered, and, as though they had been waiting for a signal like this, all of her other memories seemed to break through the barrier holding them back. Sara's mind was overcome with a huge rush of thoughts, feelings, images, sounds, smells … she couldn't handle it. She moaned in pain, it felt like her head was going to explode with all the new information it was getting. She gripped the sides of her head with her hands, as though trying to stop her brain leaking out of her ears with the pressure of all of these forgotten scenes.

Finally it all became too much for her mind to handle, and as the images continued to rush past her closed eyelids, Sara fainted.

**A.N.2/ Please read and review!**


	7. Chapter 7

**A.N. I'm going on holiday, so I won't be able to update for 2 weeks. Oh no, you say, how will I survive? Yeah, right! Anyway, I will continue this on those old fashioned things called paper and pens whilst relaxing in the sunshine (hopefully) on a beach, and I will update as soon as possible!**

**This fic is dedicated to all true snickers fans, as we meet that fantastic element: snickers fluff!**

**Chapter 7**

Nick managed to catch Sara as she fainted, tightening his arms around her reflexively as he felt her fall against him. He awkwardly moved one of his arms underneath her knees and, with the other wrapped around her back, he picked her up, and carried her back onto the couch, carefully making sure that her broken leg was laid out on the couch gently.

"Sara?" he questioned worriedly. "Sara? SARA?"

There was no response.

He could see her chest rising and falling, and so knew she was breathing, but he couldn't understand what had happened. One minute she had been smiling at him, and the next she had moaned in pain and collapsed into his arms.

He heard the kettle click off in the kitchen. Very reluctantly, he got off the couch and went to make 2 cups of coffee. He reasoned that she would probably need one when she woke up, and he knew that this repetitive task would make him feel more normal, and get his body under control. There was nothing at all sexy about coffee, he could handle coffee.

Carrying 2 cups back into the living room, he set them down on the coffee table, and sat down next to her again, careful not to squash her.

He gently stroked some hair off her cheek again, and took hold of her hand.

"C'mon Sara, wake up! Please wake up! Things were going really well!"

On impulse he leant over and placed a soft kiss on her forehead, feeling how soft her skin was with his lips. When he pulled away he saw her smiling at him, her eyes open and full of more than happiness … they were full of love.

"Hey," Nick said, smiling at her, "you gave me quite a fright."

"Hey Nicky. I guess I was lucky you were there to catch me." She grinned at him, a true happiness grin, that lit up her entire face.

When Nick saw this, what she had just said to him registered in his mind.

"Did you just call me Nicky?" he questioned, the corners of his mouth threatening to break into a huge smile.

"I did!" Sara said, with a large amount of pride in her voice. "They all just returned." As she saw Nick begin to smile widely she continued. "I was thinking about the only memory I had remembered, and the feeling of you hugging me, and so I remembered when you hugged me the other day, when I was sad about Grissom, and said I would get my life back, and then they all just … came, they bombarded me with images, sounds, smells. It was all too much! My brain couldn't take it!"

"Oh Sar, I'm so happy! I don't feel any less guilty for causing you to have to go through this, but I'm happy that you can finally remember everything!"

"Nicky." She looked at him sternly. "Please stop feeling guilty about it! That makes me feel guilty."

"Sorry, Sara, but that is never going to happen. I will always feel guilty about that! You're the person I would least want to hurt in the world, and yet you are the first person I've properly hurt in the world."

Sara grinned cheekily at him, and struggled to sit up. Once she was sitting up she looked into his eyes and stated, her voice low and seductive, "You could feel a little less guilty."

Nick smiled at her. He could tell that she had regained all of her memories, as they were regaining their usual playful flirty banter from the last 5 years.

"Oh?" he said. Matching her wicked smile with one of his own, he asked "How can I do that?".

Sara leaned closer to him, until she could feel each and every one of his breaths, still staring into his eyes. Tilting her head to the side as though thinking, she wet her lips. She felt his breathing speed up, and smiled. "You could always kiss me better." she suggested.

Nick looked down at her lips, soft and inviting, and looked back into her eyes again. He could see desire and playfulness in them, but they were almost hidden behind aweb of nervousness as to what he would say. He knew she was scared and was putting herself out there, to see if there was anything between them.

Exactly what Grissom hadn't dared to do.

He smiled, and leant forwards to capture her lips with his.

The kiss was soft and sweet, and he felt as if the slightest movement would break it. But then Sara pressed closer to him and he felt her tongue plead for entry into his mouth. Groaning, he deepened the kiss pressing her down into the cushions.

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An hour, and several long passionate kisses later, they broke for air once again. Sara gasped for breath, trying to calm the beating of her heart, and then smiled shyly at Nick, who was trying to do the same thing, supporting himself on his arms, so as not to crush her.

"Wow," he whispered, his eyes still shut.

Sara giggled. "Wow yourself! That was quite some kiss!"

Nick opened his eyes, grinning down at her. "Well, I certainly enjoyed it!"

Sara laughed again.

"Uh, yes, I can … tell" she said, moving her hips slightly, causing him to notice what his body had done.

Embarrassed, he said "It's your own fault, you shouldn't be so damn sexy!"

"Well, I'm sorry Nick, but you're just going to have to control yourself, because I'm not going to sleep with you until you've at least taken me out on one date!"

He laughed, raising himself off her, and sitting on the edge of the couch.

"In that case, I think I'll go and have a shower. Have you got any extra towels?"

"Yeah, they're in the cupboard under the sink in the bathroom," Sara said. She reached for the remote. "I'll just watch some TV until you've calmed down a bit!"

Nick laughed, and kissing her quickly on the lips, he walked out of the living room to her bathroom.

When she heard the water turn on, she laughed to herself, thinking that he was probably going to have to start off with a cold shower. Just then the doorbell rang.

Sara got up, after having reached for her crutches, meaning that she was a lot steadier. Hobbling to the door, she opened it, and was stunned into silence by who she found there.

**A.N.2/ Please please please please please please please please please please please please please read and review! That's 13 please's, my lucky number, so I'm hoping you will all review!**


	8. Chapter 8

**A.N./ Ok, I wrote this on the beach while tanning! HEHE! Thankyou so much for all the reviews I had! They made me very happy! -_does happy dance_- Now, many people guessed who the person at the door was, and many people will not want the person at the door to be this person. I am sorry, but it was crucial to my story. I had to deal with him again at some point! Come on, you know I had to! Anyway, to console those who I know will hate the end of this chapter, this is a SNICKERS fic, I promise! You just have to reach the end! Next chapter will assure you of this, I promise! This chapter is dedicated to Andrew Scott, who managed to fix the music on my computer from 120 miles away - very impressive! So he allowed me to spell check this while listening to ghostbusters! Thank you!**

**Chapter 8**

"Grissom!" Sara exclaimed, her voice full of surprise. "What are you doing here?"

Grissom stood at the door to her apartment, looking very un-grissom like. He looked extremely uncomfortable and nervous, and seemed not to know why he was there.

"Sara. I, uh, hope I'm not interrupting anything?"

"Er, no!" Sara stammered, finally coming to her senses. "Of course not!" _Not at the moment anyway. If you had been here 10 minutes earlier…_ "Nick's, uh, just taking a shower, come in!"

"Thank you," Grissom said, smiling at Sara, and pulled from behind his back a bunch of flowers with a flourish. "These are for you."

"Oh," Sara said, shocked. She had never seen this side of Grissom before, and it was making her slightly nervous. "Thanks! I'll just go and – and put them in some water. Please sit down and make yourself comfortable. Coffee?"

"Please," Grissom said, walking to her living room and sitting down carefully on the sofa. After much deliberation, he had decided, against all of his instincts, to come and tell Sara how he felt. How he had felt since she had come to Vegas. He knew at some point that she would regain her memories, and he felt if he had shown he was willing to take the risk of a relationship now, then when she regained her memories she would realise he had changed. He was different now.

He just had to find the right words.

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Sara, having placed the flowers in a vase, was waiting for the kettle to boil. She didn't know why Grissom was here, and it was distinctly unnerving. As she glanced over at the flowers again, a thought struck her. It couldn't have anything to do with her feelings for him could it? She knew everyone knew about her feelings, but she had given up hoping for him to return them. She had analysed her own feelings, and determined that she didn't love him, as everyone thought she did.

What's more, she had moved on, and was with Nick now. Or was she? What was it that she and Nick had? They hadn't even been on a date yet, that wasn't exactly a long-term relationship. Yet she felt it had the makings of one.

What if Nick didn't though? Sara felt this whisper of doubt creep into her mind. She was visibly shaking at this point. It was almost too much to handle. As the kettle clicked off she poured hot water into 2 mugs, trying to calm herself. Grissom would never put himself out there, and suggest a relationship. And even if he did, Sara wasn't in love with him, so it didn't matter. Even if she and Nick didn't work out, Sara didn't love Grissom, end of story. It had just been an obsession.

One she was completely, utterly and totally finished with.

With all of this resolved in her mind she picked up the mugs and brought them into the living room, placing them on the coffee table in front of two other coffee mugs.

Sara smiled to herself. Nick must have made coffee for them earlier, when she had passed out. She hadn't noticed, because after she regained consciousness there were … more _interesting_ things going on.

The fact that Nick had made them both coffees for when she awoke reminded Sara of just how well Nick knew her, and how comfortable she had felt kissing him. How natural it had seemed, as though they had always done it. She stopped herself.

_No point overanalysing it now, there are more important things to deal with. Just take it one step at a time, and deal with Grissom. Then you can wonder whether this relationship with Nick will go anywhere, and question him on it, maybe pick up where you left off …_

Sara then turned all of her attention to Grissom.

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"So," Sara said, becoming a little uncomfortable in the silence that was stretching on between them, "what was it that you came here for?"

She turned to meet Grissom's eyes, and found that he was staring at her. The intensity of his gaze made her blush. As Sara felt her face heat up, Grissom spoke, his voice quiet and low, but with a determination behind his words.

"Sara, you are an enchanting woman. I have thought so ever since you have worked here in Vegas with me, uh, with us. Now, before you lost your memories, there were many rumours going around the labs that you had some … feelings for me-"

"Grissom-" Sara interjected, but Grissom held up a hand and placed a finger on her lips.

"Please let me finish," he said, taking his finger away.

Sara was too shocked to say anything. She had never known Grissom to touch anyone when it wasn't essential, he just wasn't that kind of person.

"The thing is … I have also had feelings for you too," he continued. "What has held me back before has been my fear of work, because I am your supervisor, and so to date you I would become a normal CSI again, and someone else would get my job. My job and career have always been the most important thing to me, you see, and so I have always prioritised my career over everything. That day of the accident, however, showed me how fragile life is, and how easily it can be taken away, so I thought I should finally tell you.

"Now I've, um, finally laid my cards on the table, so to speak, so when your memories, uh, return, maybe you could let me know what you … think."

Sara sat speechless for a moment. Grissom had just outlined the possibility of a relationship with her. A. Relationship. With. Grissom. She couldn't believe it.

Unfortunately he was almost 5 years too late.

"Grissom," she said, unsure of how to start, "I, um, already have my memories back."

Grissom's eyes shot up, and something akin to a smile played around his lips. Sara could see what he was thinking. Maybe she had already remembered her feelings about him?

She hated to deal him a blow like this, but she had to continue.

"The thing is, Grissom, while I might have had feelings for you at one point, recently I realised I was kidding myself – that you would never like me back, and so I moved on," she finished, trying to let him down as gently as possible. She neglected to mention that she had moved on with Nick.

Well, that was one way of putting it.

"But Sara," Grissom started, moving closer to her, "I do have feelings for you! You aren't wasting your time, I promise, I-"

Sara stood up.

"No, Grissom. I made my decision a couple of months ago. I'm sorry but no."

Sara really didn't want to tell Grissom about Nick, but the way Grissom was going, it looked like she would have to. Admitting that she had once been attracted to him seemed to be the main mistake. He had now grabbed onto that fact with both hands, and was not letting it go.

"Sara please!" Grissom pleaded, standing up also. "Please can't we start something! You have feelings for me-"

"Had, Grissom, HAD!" Sara exclaimed, no longer feeling the need to be gentle with him. "I had feelings, but not any more!"

"Sara," Grissom said with a smile.

He took a step closer.

"Ok, maybe you don't."

He took another step.

"But I think I may be able to change your mind."

And with that last statement, he took one last step, now extremely close to her, and, before she could move away, placed a hand around the back of her head, and kissed her.

And as Nick walked into the living room, freshly showered, and intent on snuggling up to Sara, and having a long talk with her about where this was headed, as he felt it was headed somewhere pretty great, this was how he found them.

**A.N.2/ Ooooooooh, how many of you hate me now? Please review! I'd be so happy with over 100 reviews! Please!**


	9. Chapter 9

**A.N. I am so sorry for not getting this up sooner! Usually I write 2 chaps, so I always have one in reserve to post, but because I was on holiday I didn't - and then I got writer's block! So sorry for leaving you at that cliff-hanger - no-one was happy with it! Anyway, I just got my results, so I've been drunk and celebrating - not giving me much time! But it is up now!**

**This chapter is dedicated to Oxford University - for letting me in! Woohoo!**

**Chapter 9**

Nick stared.

He couldn't help it – he was in complete and utter shock. Sara and Grissom were kissing. Kissing! A myriad of emotions swarmed through his stomach. First he was hurt, as she obviously didn't feel for him what he felt for her. Next he felt sick, at the thought that she might have a relationship with Grissom, and he would have to stand there and be happy for them, when inside he was breaking apart. Then he felt disloyal, as Sara was, first and foremost, his best friend, and he wanted her to be happy, and if being with Grissom made her happy …

Then one emotion overwhelmed them all – anger. Anger at Grissom. He wasn't going to let Sara go without a fight. Grissom had spent five years without making a move, without ever showing anyone what Sara might mean to him. Now that Nick had seen what it was like to be with Sara, he was going to show her how much she meant to him.

He would prove to her that he loved her with every fibre of his being, and that Grissom could only have her if Sara still didn't want him after that.

Trying to ignore the sick feeling in his stomach that that thought gave him, he squared his shoulders, and walked into the living room.

"Sara?" he questioned, immediately wincing at how feeble, pathetic and needy his voice sounded

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Sara felt Grissom's lips descend upon hers. Unlike with Nick, this kiss was clumsy, and while Grissom seemed to be enjoying it, Sara definitely wasn't. Her hands came up to Grissom's chest in an effort to push him away, but he was too strong, and his arms were around her too tightly.

"Sara?" she heard Nick's voice interrupt.

Thankfully Grissom broke the kiss in surprise, and Sara immediately moved away from him and closer to Nick, in the hopes that Nick might be able to protect her next time.

Sara looked at Nick, and could see the hurt in his eyes, that he was desperately trying to hide from her, and immediately realised how it must have looked to him. Worry and nervousness overtook her entire body, making her feel numb. What did he think she felt for him, or for Grissom? Sara decided to let her actions speak for her, and immediately rushed into Nick's arms, hugging him hard.

Nick was extremely relieved when he felt Sara's arms go around his waist, and he happily enveloped her in his arms, hugging her as tightly as she was hugging him, as though trying to rid her of the memory of Grissom's arms around her, rather than Nick's arms.

Grissom watched this whole exchange with confusion written over his entire face, with a little bit of embarrassment mixed in there, after Nick had caught them in that compromising position. Now he couldn't understand what was happening.

"Sara?" he asked her.

"Grissom," Sara said, now very close to tears, "I said no! Please, I think it would be best if you left now."

Grissom reluctantly started moving towards the door. "Well, Sara … think about it. See you at work tomorrow."

With that, he walked out of her apartment without a backward glance.

If Sara had thought the silence between her and Grissom had been bad, this was unbearable. Sara looked up at Nick, but couldn't read anything in his carefully neutral expression. She knew he expected to be rejected, and for her to tell him that she wanted Grissom, and she felt so dreadful because of that, although it was primarily Grissom's fault. The neutrality, however, only served to make her really scared, because she had no idea what his reaction would be to her declaration that she liked him rather than Graissom.

Nick looked down at Sara, trying to read her expression to determine her feelings, but her expression seemed almost at neutral as his. However, he could detect a hint of something in her eyes. Fear. Fear of what?

Sara detached herself from his arms, and, taking Nick by the hand, walked over to the sofa, where they had shared their kisses about half an hour, but what seemed like a lifetime, ago. Sitting down, she wasted no time in turning to face him and starting an explanation.

"Nick, I swear there is nothing between me and Grissom! I don't love him, just like I told you the other day, I've moved on, and I want to have fun … with you. The thing is, I don't want to _just_ have fun with you, I really like you, and I'd like a relationship with you, if you want one. Grissom was the one who kissed me, not the other way around, and I didn't enjoy it at all. I felt absolutely nothing for him! But when you kiss me, I feel all giddy and nervous, like I'm a teenager on my first date, and I enjoy being with you, it's so easy and enjoyable, and not at all awkward! Please, you have to believe me! I - "

"I do Sara," Nick interrupted, his smile stretching over his face, lighting it up and filling it with happiness. "I feel exactly the same! I never thought a relationship with anyone would ever feel this comfortable. And that's what I want this to be Sar – a relationship. I don't want to just make out with you, or just go on one date with you – I want to date you, properly, in a proper relationship, because I think this has all the makings of being something very special."

Sara smiled back at him at this point, her fears finally alleviated. And when Nick saw her smiling at him, with such open happiness and feeling in her face, he couldn't help leaning down and capturing her lips with his gently.

The kiss was slow, soft and loving, and when they broke from it, they were both breathless. They smiled at each other.

"So," Sara said,with an impish grin, "what about this first date then?"

**A.N.2/ Not a bad cliff hanger this time! Thankyou so much to everyone who reviewed - you all cheered me up so much when I was worrying about universities and results! Please review again!**


	10. Chapter 10

**A.N./ I have spent ages trying to get this chapter onto the website! It's not my fault! Well, okay, I have been partying an awful lot as well! It's not a great chapter, but it's necessary to get to the next one! There will only be one or two more chapters, and I have already written the ending, I just need to get there in the next few chapters!**

**This chapter is dedicated to Nicklecreek, whose songs I have been listening to while writing and spellchecking this chapter! You rock!**

**Chapter 10**

As the doorbell rang, a swarm of butterflies danced around inside Sara's stomach. Walking to the door, she glanced into the hallway mirror, wondering whether the outfit she had worn was appropriate.

Nick had told her to dress for "fun and energetic things – but you may get a bit muddy", and so Sara was wearing trainers, jeans and a t-shirt. In an effort to look nice (it was their first date, after all) she had worn her low-cut jeans, and a tight black t-shirt, which she had to admit she looked quite nice in … she hoped. She had no idea what to expect from this first date, since when dating before she had only ever gone to the cinema, to dinner or to a club. She wasn't a great club person, having been to too many crime scenes at nightclubs in town, and she had seen movies and eaten meals with Nick before, which is why she supposed he had chosen something different. Still, she was sceptical of what it would involve. Remembering the kiss he had given her last night before leaving, she felt a huge grin break onto her face.

She trusted him. She was sure she would have a great time on this date, because it was with him.

And that said it all really, didn't it?

As she opened the door, her breath caught in her chest. Nick was also wearing jeans and trainers, but had coupled them with what was obviously an old college t-shirt. It clung to his muscular chest and arms, making her realise just how sexy she found him. His amazing body was slightly hidden, however, by the bunch of flowers he held for her.

"Hey Sar," Nick said, unable to keep from smiling widely at her. She looked amazing. That t-shirt emphasized all the right places, and there was a very tantalizing glimpse of skin between the bottom of her t-shirt and top of her jeans. He stopped himself, before his mind went too far, and held out the flowers he had got for her. Having heard her say that her favourite flowers were daffodils he had searched all over Vegas to find a flower shop selling them. The 11th one he tried sold daffodils.

"These are for you," he said, delighting in the smile that spread over her face at the sight of them.

"Thanks," she said, and curious added, "where did you get daffodils in Vegas?"

"Uh," he was hoping not to have to answer this. "If you look hard enough, there are a few shops that sell them …" he trailed off.

Sara was smiling at him with amusement in her eyes now, doubtless due to the blush creeping across his face. "How many shops did you go to?"

"Eleven," he muttered, staring down at his shoes. He had really wanted to get her her favourite flowers for their first date …

He felt the embarrassment was well worth it, however, when he felt her soft lips on his a couple of seconds later. As the kiss deepened, the flowers dropped to the floor, forgotten.

Breaking apart a few minutes later, they grinned at each other like fools.

Picking up the flowers from where he had dropped them, Nick held them out to her again. "As I said before, these are for you!"

Sara giggled and took them from him, before inviting him in and going into the kitchen to put them in a vase. He followed her into the kitchen, putting his hands on her hips from behind, and kissed her neck. Sara shut her eyes, and stepped back into his embrace, savouring the feel of his body up against hers and his warm lips on her neck.

"Mmmmmmmmm," she said, eloquent as ever around him, and she turned her body around in his arms to meet his lips with her own.

A few minutes later, when the lusty fog that had clouded their minds had lifted, Sara smiled at Nick again. She found him so damn sexy that it was taking all of her willpower to stop kissing him.

"So," she asked, in an effort to get her mind back on the right track, "what are we doing today?"

She had been slightly shocked when Nick had suggested 8 o'clock Saturday morning for the time of their first date, but he had refused to explain why.

"Well," Nick began, "you know that adventure place I was telling you about the other day?"

"Oh yeah, where you do abseiling and rock-climbing and canoeing and obstacle courses and stuff? Yeah I remember. It sounded like loads of fun!"

"Well, I've booked a day for us there. It includes breakfast and lunch there, and our choice of any 4 activities each. I just remember you saying how fun you thought it would be, so I thought it might be fun to try … together-"

Nick was cut off right then by two soft warm lips descending on his for a very chaste kiss. When Sara pulled away he saw that she was smiling broadly.

"That sounds perfect!" she told him, and she really meant it. It was so Nick to book something fun like this for their first date, rather than the cheesy option of a movie and dinner. He had chosen something that came based from their friendship, but that they could enjoy as a couple, just like their relationship. And she couldn't wait to try to beat him at some of the activities!

Nick grinned widely in relief. He had wanted to try this with her, and he thought it would be a good way to explore their relationship, as it was the kind of thing both friends and couples could do. He hadn't wanted to take her to dinner and movie, as that was really cheesy, and they had done it many times already, and he knew she hated clubs, so he had thought of what he would like to do with her, and come up with this idea. He was fantastic at obstacle courses – she wouldn't know what hit her!

"So," he asked her, "shall we?" At the same time, her held his arm out, for her to take, as though they were in an old-fashioned movie.

Sara laughed, and took his arm. "We shall!"

**A.N.2/ Last chapter I had 353 hits (woohoo!) and 9 reviews (boohoo!). I know it's not a brilliant chapter, but please read and review! Please!**


	11. Chapter 11

**A.N./ There was an influx of reviews from people who hadn't reviewed before after I put that at the end of my last chapter! Thank you to everyone. Sorry to HPFreak4life – I didn't mean to make you feel bad, but thanks for reviewing, and reading! Due to that wonderful life of partying and getting drunk I haven't been able to write this chapter for ages! I'm sorry! Here it is! And on with the date …**

**Chapter 10**

As they sat in the small café that the site owned, munching their toast and coffee, Sara looked through the booklet they had been given, to choose their events from. She decided it would be best if she chose easier things today, as she still had her broken leg, so abseiling was out of the window. Canoeing sounded like fun, however, as did the rope swings.

As she perused the different activities the site had to offer, Nick watched her, with a dopey grin on his face. She was so beautiful, the way her forehead crinkled slightly as she read, giving her a look of intense concentration, the way she lightly bit her lower lip, as she decided whether she would able to do that activity with a broken leg, the way her eyes seemed to light up with excitement as she saw each different activity …

He just couldn't believe how lucky he was to be on a date with her. She had decided to come on a date with him. He felt it then. That swooping sensation in his stomach, coupled with a huge giddiness that swept through his entire body and made his heart beat twice as fast as it should. He knew immediately what that feeling meant.

He was falling in love with her.

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It was the canoeing, rope swings, raft building and adventure/obstacle course that made it into their schedule. Sara felt she could cope with those with her leg, although she was slightly worried about the obstacle course. Everyone had a go at the obstacle course though, and so she felt that she would cope as best she could. She would beat Nick on the other activities instead!

And so canoeing was where they started.

Having donned wetsuits, they, and 10 others, took to the river, learning the basics, how to turn, how to speed up, how to catch the fastest currents and, most importantly, how to stop. After an hour of training they were ready to race.

As they lined up behind the start line, Sara found herself next to Nick. The dopey grin he was sending her caused her heart to flutter madly in her chest, but she tried to hide her emotions, and instead raised an eyebrow at him.

"Good luck, Nick, you'll need it if you want to finish anywhere near me!"

Nick's smile, if it was possible, got even wider. "Sar, don't worry, when you lose I'll comfort you!"

They both smiled at each other, enjoying their playful boasting, and then both of them turned their attention to their canoe instructor as he prepared to start the race.

"On your marks, get set, GO!" he shouted, and as one they all pushed forwards with their paddles, picking up speed as they reached the fast currents of the river.

Making her way as quickly as she could to the rapids, Sara looked around for Nick. She could see him, about level with her, but definitely further away from the rapids, so he would be slower. She smiled, and quickly pushed herself harder, in order to reach the rapids as soon as possible.

Nick spotted Sara in an ideal position to catch the fastest waters, and realised that unless he quickly caught up, she would win. While he didn't mind that, he couldn't have her knowing that! Plus, he would much rather win, because he had some interesting ideas of how to comfort her if she lost …

Hitting the rapids, Sara let loose a "Yeehaw!" scream, feeling the waters rushing alongside her and underneath her. Giggling to herself as she expertly manoeuvred the canoe around some rocks, she realised how Nick had been rubbing off on her, if she was now letting out Texan-sounding screams of yeehaw! Not that she minded. It was just that spending so much time with him was making her see just how sexy he really was. She had always seen him as attractive, but he had always been her "friend" Nick, not her "boyfriend" Nick, and so she was seeing him in a completely different light. And every time she saw him, she got these urges to …

Seeing the finish line approaching, she pushed those thoughts to the back of her mind, and concentrated on winning the race, which she did, by a considerable margin.

As they all got out of the canoes by the bank, Nick came over to her, looking all hurt that she had won, and all of Sara's pride at winning the race disappeared as her heart melted.

"There there," she said to him with a smile, trying desperately to hide how happy she was that she had won instead of him.

Nick looked down at her with his puppy dog eyes. "Not fair, you winning," he grumbled in a little boy voice, and at this she couldn't help but laugh.

"Yes it was! Still, there are 3 other activities to go, you might have a chance in those…." She told him, stressing the might just a little more than she needed to.

"Hey!" was his indignant reply to her comment, again causing her to laugh, but then she stood on tiptoes and gave him a kiss on the cheek, and took his hand, as they started back across to the canoe-house, to change out of their wetsuits. This seemed to cheer him up immensely, so by the time they got changed and headed over to where the rope swings were, he was his happy cheery boastful self again.

The rope swings consisted of a route to follow through the treetops, looking at all the wildlife to begin with, and then at the end a race, with a course to follow one at a time, with everyone being timed.

While Sara really enjoyed looking at the wildlife for the first half, she had to admit that she spend a considerable amount of it looking at the amazing body in front of her. Nick was the person in front of her, and she could see the muscles in his back ripple as he swung from one rope to the next, and his biceps were huge! And very nicely defined too! She couldn't believe that she had never noticed them before.

Finally reaching solid ground, before they started off on the timed bit of the course, Sara allowed herself to breathe a bit more easily. Without Nick's muscles rippling in front of her doing terrible things to her concentration, like causing her to forget to breathe and other minor details such as that, her heartbeat was also able to return to normal. Well, almost. Just being near Nick caused her heart to speed up now. She wouldn't quite say that she was in love with him yet, but she was definitely attracted to him. And she was getting closer and closer to falling for him.

**A.N.2/ Sorry it's so short! My writers block is playing up again! There will either be 2 more chapters or just 1 more, it depends on where this story leads me in the next chapter, which I'm going to start right now... oh, and please reveiw!**


	12. Chapter 12

**A.N. Ok, I lied, there will be 2 more chapters after this one. I'm trying to make them longer, but they keep coming to really good points to end them at! Anyway, I know much hasn't happened in this chapter, but I needed some of the insignificant things in it, because they will be picked up on again later. Anyway, this chapter is dedicated to Freddie Mercury whose birthday, when he would have been 60, was on the 5th of September. I was thinking about him a lot over the past few days. One by one, only the good die young ... and we all still love you too!**

As the rope swing leader announced the results of the race, Nick's grin threatened to break his face. When the leader had finished and directed them towards where lunch would be served, Nick turned towards Sara before she could even take one step in that direction with a triumphant look on his face.

"I won!" he exclaimed, sounding almost as excited as he had when she had agreed to go on a date with him.

Sara grinned back at him, humouring his enthusiasm. "Yes you did! Well done Nicky, my big strong hero!"

He was puffing himself up with her praise until he realised what she had said, and the too-wide grin on her face. "You're mocking me," he said, making it a question, but he could tell she was just teasing, he could see it in her eyes.

Sara giggled. "Yeah, just a little! But anyway, well done! And thank you."

"For what?"

"For taking me here. I'm really enjoying it!"

Nick took her hand at this remark, and spun her around to face him. "Sara, believe me when I say the pleasure is all mine!"

Looking around, he saw everyone heading off to the lunch hall, and so leaned down, giving her a gentle kiss.

Sara's breath caught in her chest when he kissed her. It was filled with such tenderness and care – she couldn't remember ever having felt that from anyone before. When he broke the kiss, she kept her eyes closed for a few seconds, trying to commit that feeling to memory.

She opened her eyes when she heard him chuckling softly. Blushing, she kept her hold on his hand and they both walked in companionable silence to the lunch hall.

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As they arrived at the edge of the lake, where the raft building would begin, the guide for this activity turned to the people gathered around.

"For this activity, you will need to be in groups of two, as you will be making the rafts together."

With barely a look at each other, Sara and Nick moved one step each closer together, so there could be no doubt that they were a pair. When Sara noticed that Nick had done exactly the same as her she started to laugh quietly. At this, Nick looked down at her, his wide infectious grin ever present on his face, and gently took her hand again.

Once everyone had split into pairs, the guide addressed them again.

"Okay people, each pair must make one raft. It must, however, be big enough for both of you, as you will both need to paddle it in the race we will have at the end. Which means that you must have paddles made out of your supplies as well! If you will all follow me to this row of sheds, there is one shed for each pair, and each shed has all the same materials in it, but you may fashion your raft however you like!

"You only have 60 minutes to make the raft in, however, so don't spend too long deciding what it should look like! And a word of warning, after what happened with a group yesterday, don't put the raft fully together until it is outside – or you will be unable to get it through the door! There are screens inside the shed which you can take outside and place as partitions between your shed and the shed next door if you don't want others to steal your ideas."

She looked around at all of the pairs, all of whom looked ready to run to the sheds and get stuck in immediately.

"Okay, 3, 2, 1 … go!"

At this everyone took off running towards the sheds, like a group of children. Most pairs were couples like Sara and Nick, although there were a few groups of friends as well.

As Nick reached the shed first he threw open the door and, ever the gentleman, waited for Sara to reach him first, before allowing her to enter before him. As they walked in, they noticed, among the pile of materials, tools, such as a saw, a plane, and a hammer. They realised just how much work was going to have to go into this raft.

Pulling a wad of napkins out of her pocket, Sara turned to Nick.

"Okay, during lunch I had a few ideas of how to build a raft for maximum stability," she said, showing him her drawings.

Nick looked down at them, inwardly marvelling at just how clever she was, and, as he looked at the drawings, one of them jogged the memory of an idea he had had. Mentioning this to Sara they looked at the plan, and then at the materials they had. A smile broke out on both of their faces. They could do this.

Sara immediately got a tape measure and measured the long pieces of wood, and then Nick, to see if they would fit. As her arms reached the top of his head her eyes caught his, and all thoughts of the raft were lost.

Nick had been dying to kiss Sara ever since their kiss just before lunch, and with every moment that Sara stared into his eyes he was losing more and more of his self control.

Sar drew a ragged breath. This intensity of his gaze was melting her. She really wanted to kiss him, but they only had about 57 minutes left to build this raft.

"Nick, this probably isn't a good idea," she said gently. As she saw a stricken expression appear on his face, she realised how that much have sounded, and amended her words.

"What I mean is, as much as I want to kiss you now, we have to build this raft! We have to be sure not to let our romantic relationship to interfere with other things, like work."

Nick moved closer to her, wrapping his arms around her comfortingly, reassuring her wordlessly. "We won't let it interfere with work. You and I are both professionals, we know how to keep personal things away from work."

Then a mischievous smile appeared on his face.

"But this isn't work, this is a date. And on a date, people do romantic things," he paused. "Like kiss each other."

Sara giggled. She had been overanalysing things as usual. "Ok, I'm sorry, but," looking at her watch, she continued, "we now only have about 56 minutes to make this raft!"

Nick grinned down at her.

"I'm sure we can spare 1 or 2," he said, before softly placing his mouth over hers.

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They broke apart a few long deep kisses later, with very satisfied grins on their faces.

"OK," Nick related, "so that was more like 5 or 6 minutes."

"So we wasted a little time," Sara smiled, trying to pull him down into another kiss.

Nick gently removed her hands from around his neck.

"Sar, as much as I want to, you know we have to make this raft. And more importantly, we have to win!"

Sara laughed. "You're right! But this kiss isn't over!"

"I'm counting on it babe!" Nick whispered huskily in her ear as he moved around her to get a better look at their supplies.

Both of them smiling happily, they got on with making the raft, and to Sara it felt so comfortable. They worked together seamlessly, almost reading each others thoughts, like they did at crime scenes, and that, Sara realised, was what made Nick so very different from Grissom, and so right for her. They were really good friends, first and foremost, and this meant that whatever happened, whether they were kissing, or processing a crime scene or just walking with each other, it always felt comfortable.

And right.

**A.N.2/ Please review!**


	13. Chapter 13

**A.N. This is the penultimate chapter, so this will be finished just before I go to university on the 2nd of October. This is dedicated to all those who are starting university or college soon! Good luck to you all!**

**Crash chapter 13**

One hour and 1 very shaky start later, Sara and Nick were paddling their raft for all they were worth across the lake. There were two rafts ahead of them, but both of these rafts had immediately taken the lead, and so Nick and Sara felt quite confident that they would tire soon.

Nick and Sara's raft, whilst being one of the biggest, was also one of the most stable, with an extra log under each of the four sides, to ensure extra buoyancy. This meant that, as other rafts wobbled, swayed, dipped and, even in one case, disintegrated as the people rowed from them, Sara and Nick's always stayed upright.

As they started to gain on the people in front of them, who seemed to be beginning to tire, Nick and Sara glanced at each other and, at exactly the same time, sped up their rowing, working together seamlessly as always.

Sara marvelled at how similar they were. She loved the feeling that she got around Nick. He seemed like her male twin – someone who always knew what she was thinking, often because he was thinking the same thing. Yet she also found him devastatingly attractive and sexy, to the extent that she sometimes became slightly tongue-tied around him, although she was getting better as she started to feel more and more comfortable around him.

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5 harrowing minutes later Sara and Nick overtook the last remaining person in front just in time to be the winners.

Smiling at each other as Nick got off the raft and then gave Sara a hand up, since she still wasn't too mobile with her broken leg, before handing her her crutches, they could both see the challenge in each others' eyes. Since they had both won this race, that was a score of 2 each.

The next activity would decide the winner.

And they both wanted to be it.

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As the guide blew the whistle signalling the start of the obstacle course – their last activity – Sara gave it her best shot, knowing that she wouldn't do very well at all. Focusing on the ground she concentrated on walking in the slippery mud with her crutches. About 100 yards later, having passed 4 people who seemed unable to get up out of the mud, or who had twisted ankles from falling because they had been running too fast, she felt that maybe the crutches were a good idea, and had saved her a great deal of embarrassment!

However, as she continued to concentrate on moving slowly, the last thing she expected to see was a large hand come into her field of vision, and slide under her arm and around her back, allowing part of her weight to be put on this kind person's shoulder.

Sara leaned heavily on Nick, knowing that she would need to save her strength as much as possible – the course was far from over!

Smiling up at him, she asked "So, what about winning, with that extremely quick score you were telling me you were going to get earlier?"

Nick grinned back down at her, and gave her a quick peck on the lips, before replying "Well, this is a date, and I realised on the last activity, I prefer working in a team with you, because then I get to be close to you and enjoy time with you. Winning suddenly seems really insignificant when I'm around you."

Nick's comment brought tears to Sara's eyes. She had never imagined anyone could ever feel like that around her.

Nick saw the reaction his comment had evoked in Sara, and immediately stopped and gave her a huge hug, kissing her tenderly on the top of her head.

"You're the most important thing to me Sar, not winning, not getting a fast time, not getting the next promotion or making it as far as I can in my job." He wanted to prove to her how different he was from Grissom. "You're too important to me for anything else to matter!"

Sara hugged Nick back, lost for words. Pulling back slightly she opened her mouth to tell him how she felt, but no words came out. Looking into her eyes, Nick saw what she felt, and how she didn't have the words to describe it, and smiled at her again, before saying "I know, Sar, you don't have to say anything." He then enveloped her in another hug.

A few moments later, they pulled away from each other, and continued with the course, more at ease with each other than they had ever been before.

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A rickety bridge, some minor obstacles, and a very funny incident, which had involved Nick trying to swing across a trench of freezing cold water whilst holding Sara's crutches, and so had ultimately culminated in him falling rather ungracefully into said water, they arrived at the last mud field of the course.

As Nick started onto it, still helping Sara, she held out an arm stopping him.

"No Nick, I'm gonna do this bit on my own! I want to finish and start this on my own. Besides, I have my crutches!"

Nick looked at her, and could see the determination in her eyes. He knew how much she prided herself on being strong and independent, and so knew how important this would be to her. However, he didn't want to leave her like this.

"Are you sure, Sar?"

Sar smiled up at him. She could see the protectiveness in his eyes, and knew he didn't want to let her go on her own, but she wanted to do this herself.

"Yes, Nicky, I'm sure! Now go and get your fast score!" she said, giving him a little push.

With a last glance at Sara, Nick started off at a run for the finish line that he could see in the distance.

So it was of some surprise to Sara when she came across Nick sprawled in the mud less than 50 metres from where he had left her.

"Aww, Nicky, what happened?" she asked, trying to hold back her laughter at the sight of Nick covered in mud from head to toe.

"I slipped," he muttered, wiping away some mud that was trying to drip into his eyes and that was covering the whole right-hand side of his face. Looking at Sar, who was standing there with her head slightly tilted to the side, he relented and added "about 5 times."

Sara couldn't help it then. She giggled and rather than helping him up, she set off for the end of the field, calling back over her shoulder "See you at the finish line Nicky."

About 5 seconds later she felt someone put their hands around her waist and she felt herself being gently but firmly tackled into the mud.

"Nick!" she squealed as she landed in the mud.

"I can't have it getting around the lab that a woman with a broken leg beat me on an obstacle course! I have an athletic "hard" rep to maintain you know," he said, momentarily flexing one of his biceps.

Sara dissolved into a fit of giggles hearing him describe himself as "hard", and just looked at him from her very enjoyable vantage point of beneath him.

"Darn," she said, pretending to be disappointed to be lying under him rather than making her way to the end of the course, "now I can't win!"

Looking at her pout, Nick smiled and kissed her on the end of her nose, before rolling off her and offering her a hand up, which she gratefully took.

"Lets draw," he said, walking next to her as she made her way to the finish line.

**A.N.2/ Please review! Please!**


	14. Chapter 14

**A.N. Oh no, the last chapter! I just want to say a big thank you to everyone who has reviewed this story – your reviews really cheer me up when I'm feeling down, so thank you for brightening my days! A really big thank you to _transgenic-girl, seeingstars27, wraiths-angel, jdcocoagirl, Nickysbabygirl, Smilinstar and The little witch_, you have reviewed nearly all of my chapters, and knowing that you were enjoying the story helped me when my writer's block struck.**

**I am off to university this Monday, so I probably won't be able to write anything or very much for the next 9 weeks. I have some stories I have started, so I might try to post some chapters, but I don't know yet. If you want to read anything else of mine, please put me on author alert, as I haven't given up, I am just going to be MIA for the next 9 weeks.**

**I hope you all enjoyed this story! As always please read and review - I'd really love 200 reviews!**

**This is dedicated to anyone going to Oxford University – I'll see you soon!**

**TTT1901 xxx**

**Chapter 14**

As they stood in the hallway of Sara's apartment they burst into hysterical laughter. The looks they had got from everyone walking from Nick's car to the Chinese takeaway/restaurant just around the corner, and then from the takeaway to Sara's flat had just been too much. Nick walked into the kitchen and deposited the bags full of food on the countertop, and then walked into the living room to ask Sara what drink she wanted.

He found her just standing there, balancing on her good leg and crutches.

"Sar, what is it?" he questioned.

She turned slightly and laughed. "I don't want to get mud on my couch, but I don't know how to not get mud on it! I can't have a shower very easily with this leg, and if we shower now our food will get cold!"

"Wait here," Nick said gently, and went into the kitchen again. After a bit of searching, he came out again, holding a roll of bin bags. The next 3 minutes were spent unrolling the bags, opening them up and ripping them to cover as big a space as possible. Soon the entire couch was covered in black plastic.

"Ta-da!" he said dramatically, and was rewarded with a soft kiss on the lips from Sara.

As he broke away his stomach growled loudly, followed by Sara's. They both laughed, and Nick went to get the dishes, placing them on plates. Two trips later they were both settled on the couch with a plate of Chinese and a beer.

They ate whilst talking about their day's activities. They had indeed drawn for the last event, and so had drawn overall over the whole day's events. As she finished her meal, Sara set the plate on the coffee table and turned to Nick.

"Nicky," she began hesitatingly. She was never very good as expressing her emotions verbally, preferring to keep them under wraps and never tell anyone what she felt, because it made her too vulnerable. She trusted Nick, however, more than she had trusted anyone else, and she wanted him to know just how special he was to her.

Nick looked at Sara, and realised how nervous she looked. He knew from experience that if Sara was struggling to get something out you shouldn't interrupt, so he just smiled at her, and stayed silent, waiting for her to continue.

"I … I really enjoyed today, more than I've enjoyed anything for a long time. I really … like where this thing between us is going, and …"

She couldn't seem to find any words to express what else she felt, and as Nick saw that she really couldn't express it, he leant forward and kissed her. Sara kissed him back with all the feeling she had in her, trying to show Nick how much she liked him in that one kiss, and trying to convey her feelings through their kiss, not through words.

When they broke away a few minutes later, Nick grinned at her again.

"Well said," he remarked with a wink.

Sara laughed. She was relieved that he didn't seem to mind the fact that she was so dreadful with words, and he seemed to know how she felt.

"Sar, I wanted to thank you for today. I've never had such a fun time with a girlfriend, because I've never felt so comfortable with a girlfriend before. You truly are 1-in-a-million to me Sara Sidle, and I don't ever want to let you go."

He smiled down at her, with nothing but love in his eyes. And so Sara couldn't hold back any longer. She reached up, searching for his lips with her own.

And their lips met gently, softly, like the first ever time they kissed. Sara could feel the overwhelming love flowing from Nick, and it melted any barriers she may have had left. She gave herself fully to Nick, trusting him, loving him completely.

Nick soon deepened the kiss, his tongue entering her mouth and exploring it as though he wanted to memorise every inch of it, as though this night was an amazing gift that he didn't deserve, so he needed to savour every moment.

The kiss continued, ever growing in passion and intensity, and both knew at this point where it would lead. Without breaking the kiss, the two of them starting moving slowly towards her bedroom.

Along the way, clothing was discarded, skin was caressed, necks were nibbled, and the groans, moans and gasps continued until they tumbled onto the bed in an undignified mess. And as they both continued with their explorations of the other's bodies, they both marvelled at how right it felt, how normal it felt.

There was no doubt in either of their minds – they were made for each other. With all they had come through, to now still be together was amazing, and showed the true depth and intensity of their love.

And as they both screamed in pure ecstasy at the same time, they knew that nothing could possibly separate them again.

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Nick slipped an arm around Sara's waist, as he spooned up behind her, much later. Sara gave a happy little sigh, and nestled back into his embrace.

"Sar?" he murmured.

"Mmmmm?"

"I've fallen in love with you. I fell over the past 5 years, but I now trust you more than anything, and so I feel like I can tell you this now. And as I promised before, because I love you, I'll never let anything bad happen to you. Ever. You can always count on me. Never forget that."

He pulled her even closer.

Kissing the side of her neck softly, his whispered in her ear "Goodnight, my gorgeous Sara. Sweet dreams."

And as she heard this her heart completely melted. And her feelings for him hit her hard, suddenly invading her brain, and she realised just how much she cared for him.

And she fell in love with him just like that, like that cabinet had fallen all that time ago.

Crash.


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